We have all been given the advice to never ‘Google’ a symptom, as the internet will most likely tell you that you are dying, right?
When it comes to pregnancy, I find it to be the complete opposite.
The internet has proven to be such a comforting and knowledgeable place for all my pregnancy symptoms.
Just when I think I am experiencing something totally unrelated to pregnancy, I just type it in and sure enough — results from health sites, forums, social media and blogs will pop up, with ladies experiencing the same thing.
My partner asked me the other day what the most surprising thing about pregnancy had been so far. I found it really hard to answer, because this is my first pregnancy and I guess nothing is surprising in the unknown as there are no expectations.
However, I have to say that apart from those stereotypical characteristics of pregnancy — the ‘big belly’, ‘weight gain’, ‘baby brains,’ ‘constant need to pee’ and ‘morning sickness’, etc — being lucky enough to be pregnant definitely exposes you to the reality of just how much of a transformation the body, mind and soul goes through.
I gained comfort when learning my odd sensations were actually common symptoms, and I am sure other mums will experience the same satisfaction when finding the same result.
Some of the odd symptoms I’ve had to type into the search engines include: itchy ears (random), facial pigment (yes, a line above my lip resembles a moustache), and (divulging a little deeper here) a higher susceptibility to UTIs.
To my relief, I wasn’t dying or contracting a disease that was slowly eating my flesh from the inside out; it was merely confirmed that I was pregnant. After doing this enough times, I stopped with the Googling and just accepted each new minor side effect as ‘part of pregnancy.’
Meshel Laurie gets very honest about her struggle to get pregnant with a partner who isn’t interested in having kids. Post continues below.
With that, I realised I am effectively in ‘Boot Camp’ for motherhood. I am being trained right now to be tough, to endure all sorts of less-than-perfect scenarios, to adapt and get on with the job.
I mean, I was pretty strong prior to this, but in a totally different way. I could lift some weights and hold strong in difficult situations. But as soon as I felt something less than perfect, I had to figure out what was wrong. I’d call the physician, tell everyone about it — “Hey Lauren, how are you?” “Oh I’m okay, I guess; I just have this weird pain in my finger that’s SO annoying…” — and basically put my life on hold till it was fixed.
Now, I’m getting on every day with at least five symptoms attached to my growing belly, and when asked how I am, I say “GREAT.”
Because you know what makes any difficult time worth it? A justified reward at the end. And honestly, there is no greater gift than that of life, of parenthood.
So, from being someone who’d let their whole day be ruined from a bad night sleep before, I am now saying, “Come at me back pain, swollen ankles and, let’s just say, more ‘aromatic’ underarm scent – I’m going to be a Mumma”.
I have a reason for all that I am feeling and a purpose to not only endure, but conquer. I dream about that day when I get to hold my child in my arms for the first time and have all of the highs, lows and experiences from the previous nine months melt away as I take a big breath… and look into my baby’s eyes.